Inclusion, Engagement & Fun: The Annual Unified Basketball Games Return

Inclusion, engagement, and fun are at the center of our Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools: Thousand Oaks High School, Newbury Park High School and Westlake High School’s Annual Unified Sports League Tournaments. 

Team sports bring people together and the Unified Champion Schools and Unified Sports programs at our three comprehensive high schools does just that.

Throughout the school year, three Unified Sports League Tournaments take place, and this Tuesday, February 14th the  Unified Sports Basketball Games returned to the gymnasium court at Thousand Oaks High School.

Unified Sports joins students with disabilities and their neurotypical peers on the same team. At all three comprehensive high schools, the Unified Teams are comprised of approximately half Athletes, and half Unified Partners. Each school has developed a unique model of stewardship for their Unified Sports Leagues with Special Education teachers, Adapted Physical Education teachers, and a variety of staff members, lending support to the teams. 

In preparation for the annual Games, the teams typically practice once a week where training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding between Athletes and Unified Partners. 

At this year’s Annual Unified Basketball Games, the Thousand Oaks High School bleachers were full, as the community joined together to cheer on our Athletes and Unified Partners and support this invaluable program.

This past fall the three high schools participated in Unified Bocce Games and this spring they will participate in Unified Soccer Games, as part of their three league tournament.

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools programming is in more than 8,300 schools across the United States, with a goal of being in 10,000 schools by 2024.

CVUSD is proud to continue to offer students new opportunities for inclusion, collaboration, and fun.

Way to go Athletes and Unified Partners!